Alarm clock contact device



Jan. 7, 1941. w BAlLEY 2,227,621

ALARM CLOCK CONTACT DEVICE Filed April 8, 1959 E4 5 5&3 5&4 l

25 :27 E46 f .a 2

2a 3 /3 7 q 28 Z INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 7, 1941 E UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALARM CLOCK CONTACTDEVICE William P. Bailey, New York, N. Y.

Application April 8, 1939, Serial No. 266,774

1 Claim.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a contact device for alarmclocks which may readily be installed by the average layman on clocksnow in use, and which may also be incorporated in the manufacture of theclock.

The invention is an alarm clock having the alarm winding key insulated,and two contact points positioned in the path of the key, with the keyadapted to engage the points to complete a circuit therethrough.

Many devices have been provided for operating furnaces, radios, andother devices by alarm clocks, and some have been incorporated in theclock to engage one of the hands, and others have been provided invarious forms, however for some uses it has been found particularlydesirable to design some form of contact that may readily be installedand in which the clock may be used without adding additional parts, or,in fact, hardly changing any of the parts thereof.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means forcompleting a circuit as the alarm of an alarm clock starts withoutchanging the construction of the clock.

Another object is to provide a plurality of contact points adapted to beinstalled on the back of an alarm clock in the path of the alarm windingkey which may readily be installed on clocks now in use.

A further object is to provide an alarm clock with two contact pointspositioned about the alarm winding key so that both points may readilybe engaged by the key as the alarm is started.

And a still further object is to provide a circuit closing device on analarm clock which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these ends in view the invention embodies an alarm clock having twocontact points positioned on the back thereof and extending outward fromthe back so that they will be engaged by the alarm winding key, and ahub of insulating material for the said key.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view showing the back of an alarm clock with the contactsin place.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the clock shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail showing a hub of insulating material for the alarmwinding key.

Figure 4 is a detail showing an alternate design in which the key may bedrawn outward so that it will pass by the points when Winding the alarm.

Figure 5 is a view showing another alternate design in which the contactpoints are provided on a plate adapted to be mounted on the back of theelock and held by a screw in the back thereof.

Figure 6 is a view showing another alternate design in which the contactpoints are provided on a separate stand and positioned in the path ofthe alarm winding. key.

Figure 7 is a view showing another alternate design in which the contactpoints are provided on a spring clip adapted to be snapped over the backof the clock.

Figure 8 is. a detail showing an alternate arrangement in which thecontacts are covered and the circuit completed through a bar on the knobof the alarm winding key.

In the drawing the device is shown as it may be made, wherein numeral Iindicates an alarm clock numeral 2, the alarm winding key, and numerals3 and 4, contact points.

In the design shown in Figures 1 and 2, the contact points 3 and 4 aremounted on the back of a clock and positioned in the path of the alarmwinding key 2, and it will be noted that, with the alarm wound and withthe points 3 and 4 connected in a circuit, the circuit will be instantlycompleted as soon as the alarm starts, and, when setting the device, itis only necessary to move the key a relatively short distance. It willbe noted, therefore, that once the alarm is wound it cannot run down,and it is only necessary to move the key away from the contact points tobreak the circuit and set the alarm.

The alarm winding key may be provided with a hub 5 of insulatingmaterial, as shown in Figure 3 in which a portion of the hub is brokenaway, and it will also be noted that the hub, which is indicated by thenumeral 6 in Figure 4, may be provided with a slot 1 adapted to slideover a pin 8 so that it may be drawn outward to wind the alarm ifdesired.

In the design shown in Figure 5, the contact points, which are indicatedby the numerals 9 and ID, are mounted upon a separate plate II, and thisplate may be attached to the back of the clock by a screw l2 whichnormally holds the back to the case. It will be understood that thescrews that hold the case of the alarm clock are located in differentpositions and, therefore, the plate ll may be of any type or design andmay be arranged to fit over a screw so that it may be held in such aposition that the points 9 and ill will be in the path of the key 2.

In the design shown in Figure 6 the contact points l3 and M are mountedon a separate stand l and positioned to be engaged by the key 2, and itwill be understood that these points may be in a radio or mounted in abracket or frame of any type or design.

In the design shown in Figure '7, the contact points l5 and I? aremounted upon a spring clip l8 that may readily be snapped over theclock, thereby providing means for mounting the contact means on theclock without screws or other attaching means.

In the design shown in Figure 8, the hub 19 of the alarm winding key 20is lengthened, and the inner end provided with a flexible metal bar 2!adapted to contact points 22 and 23 similar to the points 3 and 4, and,in this design, the device is provided with a stop pin 25 resilientlyheld inward by a spring 25 and provided with a knob 2'. extendingoutward through a cover 28, and it will be noted that this pin may bepositioned to stop the bar 2| at any point, or may be held outward whenwinding the alarm key. With this device, or, in fact, with any of theother designs, it will be possible to make or break a circuit, however,with the device shown in Figure 8, the stop pin 25 will hold the key insuch a position that it will either complete a circuit or hold thecircuit open.

It will be understood that other changes may be made without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. One of which changes may be in thelocation or position of the contact points, another may be in the use ofother means for adjustably mounting the key, and still another may be inthe use of other means for mounting the contact points on the back ofthe clock.

The construction will be readily understood from the foregoingdescription. In use the contact points 3 and 4 may readily be attachedto the back of the clock and positioned so that the key 2 will engagethem when the alarm starts, and, although the wires are not shown, itwill be understood that wires extend from the points, and these wiresmay connect the points in a circuit to a furnace, radio, lights, or anyobject or device, and, with the alarm set at a certain time, the keywill turn as soon as the alarm starts and as soon as it engages thepoints a circuit will be completed.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A contact device for alarm clocks and the like having alarm windingkeys, comprising a contact bar on the key adapted to rotate therewith,contact points positioned on opposite sides of the key and in the pathof the said contact bar, and a cover forming an enclosure for the barand points and through which a bail of the key extends; said devicecharacterized by a spring pin resiliently mounted in the cover andpositioned to engage the said contact bar to limit the movement thereof,and also in that the key in the winding operation rotates only a shortdistance disengaging the bar from the points, and then as the alarm isreleased, rotates only a very slight distance to engage the points tocomplete a circurt.

WILLIAM P. BAILEY.

